This means that Wenger has a very late decision to make on Sanchez’s fitness, and will have to be guided by how fit Sanchez says he is. The problem is that Sanchez always says that he is fit to play, and has said that he is ready before when he was not.

Sanchez shook off a hamstring injury to play for Chile, and Wenger was anxious that he might aggravate it over the international break. Now he has to take Sanchez’s word for whether he is fully recovered or not.

“What I will consider is the risk of injury because he played while recovering from a hamstring injury,” Wenger said. “I’ll consider the way he feels as well. On that front you depend on the honesty of the player, how they feel and how they recover.”

Wenger is not fully briefed on Sanchez’s injury yet, but will know more when Sanchez returns to London on Thursday afternoon, and to training on Friday morning.

“I haven’t heard a lot because we didn’t know if he’d play or not,” Wenger said. “In the end they decided to play him. He texted us to tell us he’s in good shape after the game. He came off after 84 minutes and now we have to wait. I see him tomorrow morning and then I will see if he can be involved in the squad or not.”

While Wenger would, ideally, have preferred Sanchez not to play for Chile he knew that he could not stop his star striker from playing in a World Cup qualifier. “You have to trust the medical people from Chile,” Wenger said.

Arsenal transfer targets

Arsenal transfer targets

1/7
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund)

Arsenal were reportedly interested in signing the Gabonese striker in the summer and may return with an offer to Dortmund at the end of the season. Aubameyang has been in scintillating form this season, scoring 15 goals in 15 games in all competitions.

Getty

2/7
Paul-Georges Ntep (Rennes)

The left-midfielder’s deal at Rennes expires at the end of the season and so he will be free to sign a pre-contract in January. A strong dribbler of the ball, Ntep has been made two appearances for France.

Getty

3/7
Reece Oxford (West Ham)

After Oxford became West Ham’s youngest ever player to appear in the Premier League at just 16 years old (his debut came against the Gunners), he immediately attracted interest from some of England’s big clubs, including Arsenal. However he is reportedly set to sign a new five-year deal.

Getty

4/7
Jose Gimenez (Atletico Madrid)

The 21-year-old Uruguayan has already played 21 times for his country and has been touted as a future world-class centre-back. Currently on the books of Atletico Madrid, Gimenez is not a regular and a move in January would surely appeal to him.

Getty

5/7
Peter Gwargis - Husqvarna

“Who?” you may ask. The Swedish midfielder is just 16 years old and has been compared to current Arsenal attacker Mesut Özil after he started training with the Husqvarna first team in his home country. The Gunners face competition from PSV for his signature according to the player’s representative.

Getty

6/7
Stefan de Vrij (Lazio)

The Netherlands defender is contracted to Lazio until 2019 but has been linked with a move to Chelsea and Arsenal. De Vrij, who used to play for Feyenoord in his home country, has been in good form this season as Lazio sit fourth in Serie A.

Getty

7/7
Chris Smalling (Manchester United)

After Jose Mourinho’s strong public criticism of the England defender, other Premier League clubs have been put on alert if Smalling decides he wants to leave the Manchester club.

Getty

“I completely understand that Alexis wanted to play in qualifiers - they’re not friendlies. Chile are not in a fantastic position to qualify for the World Cup and I understand that Alexis is keen to play for his country in such an important game.”